Category: Programs

Florida

Program aims to help Wakulla Correctional Institute inmates learn web development, life skills

On Friday, WCI “formally celebrated” the Persevere Program coming to its facility. Persevere is a year-long course focusing on training inmates to become full-stack web developers. It includes life skills classes and the opportunity to get help with transitional housing, according to officials. Persevere launched our Florida classes at 2 facilities at the end of 2023. In March 2024 we had an official ribbon cutting to launch the program. – Source: WCTV News Florida

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WCTV News Florida April 26, 2024
Shandea
Arizona

It’s Just Me: Shandea Hardin’s Story

She admits now that Persevere saw something in her that she didn’t, or could not. She fell in love with coding almost right away and discovered that the problems and solutions-based-thinking came naturally. It also helped her learn to speak again. In her own words: “I was just beginning to talk again because I had been a trauma-induced mute for two years. Coding helped me level up as a human being, helped me develop crucial communication skills.

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Alec Niedenthal March 18, 2024
Jason Doty
Success Stories

“I Crawled Up from the Mud”: Jason Doty’s Story

“I was in a dark, angry place. It was an animalistic time. You sleep with your shoes on there. You step over bodies in the morning. But when I found Persevere – when Josh found me – it was like rocket fuel. I was ready to take off and do something great, if I was lucky enough to get out.” Jason found the classroom experience not only immensely engaging in itself, but to be an escape from “the madness around [him].”

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Alec Niedenthal January 31, 2024
Staff Spotlight Alisa Smith
Arizona

Faces of Persevere: Meet Alisa Smith

At Persevere, our greatest asset is our staff. Our team cares deeply about their work, our participants and is a wealth of knowledge. Plus they are pretty amazing humans as well. Meet the faces of Persevere.

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Callie Unruh December 20, 2023
Instructor Spotlight Davin Thomas
Meet the Team

Instructor Spotlight: Meet Davin Thomas

At Persevere, our greatest asset is our staff. Our team cares deeply about their work, our participants and is a wealth of knowledge. Plus they are pretty amazing humans as well. Meet the faces of Persevere.

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Callie Unruh November 7, 2023
Some Kind of Hope: Tiana Turman
Arizona

Some Kind of Hope: Tiana Turman’s Story

“When Persevere came to me,” she concludes, “I was literally depressed to the point where I didn’t want to wake up. My time was hard and that last year was the hardest. I got fired from a good job. Some officers and inmates were trying to get me off the yard. But then Persevere put a shield around me so no one could affect me. They couldn’t take Persevere away from me. I was part of that 22-women group and we hid in the arms of the program.” Beyond a job, then, coding provided her some kind of hope.

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Alec Niedenthal October 20, 2023

Faces of Persevere: Intern RanDee Martinez

At Persevere, our greatest asset is our staff. Our team cares deeply about their work, our participants and is a wealth of knowledge. Plus they are pretty amazing humans as well. Meet the faces of Persevere.

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Callie Unruh October 18, 2023